Pope Francis met with Vatican officials Sept. 10 to hear their questions and suggestions about his ongoing reform of the Vatican bureaucracy.

Speaking at an assistance center for foreign refugees in Italy, Pope Francis called on wealthy societies and the Catholic Church to do more to help and defend the rights of the needy.

Military strikes on Syria are unjustified and will create a far larger humanitarian disaster for people already suffering from hunger, displacement and critical lack of medical care, said the Vatican nuncio to the United Nations.

Leading a crowd in prayer for peace in Syria, Pope Francis said that war is ultimately caused by selfishness, which can be overcome only though expressions of fraternity and never with violence.

Pope Francis is leading the Catholic Church on an extraordinary campaign to prevent President Barack Obama’s proposed military strike on Syria.

For the thousands of people who turned out for a solemn vigil in St. Peter’s Square, the power of prayer and hopes for peace are still mightier than the world’s weapons and wars.

The Catholic Church closely safeguards the sanctity of marriage because it is a reflection of Christ’s union with his bride, the church, Pope Francis said.

Even with just war theory as a guide, the answers remain murky to moral and ethical questions about whether a military strike is the appropriate response to what U.S. officials believe was a chemical attack against Syrian civilians, analysts said.

The gas, oil, minerals and timber that have spurred economic growth in Latin America over the past decade are becoming a matter of life and death in remote communities, church workers say.

The problems of poverty, discrimination and conflict in the Middle East took center stage in private talks between Pope Francis and Bolivian President Evo Morales at the Vatican.